Big metal shed to chicken coop...?

[Pippin quail]

I am new to chicken keeping. I hatched my first 15 chicks 3 weeks ago! All are healthy and GROWING! And surprise, surprise, my husband and I are those people who hatched the chicks and thought we would have plenty of time to build a coop. But with the extreme lumber prices right now my dream wood coop is so far looking like it will cost $2700 not including any insulation or the hardware cloth and run! That's just the lumber for framing, flooring and roofing. Hubby is not going for that....

So we have a couple options. One is buy a plastic Costco shed, still a bit pricey as we would need to add ventilation, windows, insulation, etc and then I don't think it would be quite as big as I'm hoping for. (Most are 8x8 or 7x9) I currently have 15 chicks (about 3-5 I think are going to be roosters based on my amateur feather sexing, so I could be wrong) But of course want to leave room for chicken math!

Our next option is a big metal shed we that was on the property when we bought it... The issues with this are:
1) the floor is rotting out in some places and will need to be ripped out. It's on top of some big steel pipes to keep it off the ground. But I'm trying to figure out if we should try and replace the floor or block off the gap around the edge with wood and hardware cloth and have a dirt floor. I'm hoping to do deep litter so I like the idea of the dirt floor. But wondering thoughts on how the might work in metal and with the raised situation.
2) We live in AB, Canada where it gets cold in the winter. It doesn't usually stay there for long, but we definitely have cold snaps where it gets down to -40°. How would you suggest is the best way to insulate a metal coop? Would I need heat or would adequate insulation and ventilation be enough? Would the roof need insulating as well? I'm not too worried about summer heat as the shed is in a treed/shady area and I also plan on adding windows and a full sliding glass patio door to the side. I'm hoping that will also help heat the coop in the winter when the leaves are gone.

3) The shed is 24x8 feet. So it is definitely big enough for chicken math, separating part of it for feed storage, eventually adding ducks to one side, etc... Lots of options. I'm just wondering, for the time being with what will likely be 12 ish chickens by winter, will a coop that big stay warm enough with that few chickens?
The picture of the shed shows how big it is and it clearly needs a lot of work. It has a few dead mice in it which instantly gives me the heeby jeebies.
And as you can see, my chicks are fast outgrowing their brooder. I made them a temporary outdoor chicken tractor that I bring them out to on nice days. But on rainy days like it has been all week, they all fly out every time I open the brooder and then they explore the room and poop all over the floor Needless to say, we really need to convert or build a coop ASAP.

 

[MissE]

Don't bother with insulation. I am in a similar climate, and ventilation counteracts any insulation you have. Good ventilation when its -40 helps prevent frostbite. They wont need heat in the winter anyway, just a draft free, dry coop.

I can't tell from the picture, but you likely don't have much of an overhang. You can add ventilation up high, but may need to make awnings to keep the wind and rain out.

On the plus side, you have lots of room to work with.

 

[Sally PB]

Welcome!

I'm not an expert, so please read whatever articles/threads you can find that are pertinent to your locale. And ask lots of questions. The knowledge here on BYC is vast!

Here's what I think, FWIW.

Use your shed. You have lots of room to work with and grow your flock. (Teensy bit jealous, here.) Take out the rotting floor, and salvage whatever wood you can.

Do you have electricity in the shed, or can you add it? It's helpful in cold weather, to keep their water from freezing.

The big thing you need to do/add is lots of ventilation. Luckily, there is a lot of vertical space. Ammonia rises, and so does their warm breath in the winter. You want the ventilation above the chickens' heads when they are roosting. That will help minimize frostbite possibilities. Figure at least 1 square foot of ventilation per bird, open 24/7/365. (Open meaning covered with hardware cloth to keep out predators.)

Can you put in a ridge vent? Or is there one there? Awnings over openings help keep out direct wind/rain/snow.

 

[Pippin quail]

Update!!

Hubby went with my request for an aqua blue (I was not there to pick out paint) and it's beautiful. I would call it a "Tiffany Blue" in person, pictures make it look a little darker than it is. But I'm now calling my coop "Tiffany & Co." and will for sure be naming one of my next hatch Tiffany. Then I'll be getting my breakfast at Tiffany's. Ok, maybe it's not original, but the coop color fits and I like it.

Even the floor on my shed side got a coat of the blue!

The chicken side, nesting boxes not completely finished and roosting bars yet to be put in. But my hubby put up the plywood to prevent drafts and promote airflow from the venting. We will see how it works out... I'm still a little worried that this will be terrible for winter and I'll have to somehow insulate. But I guess time will tell.

hubby put up a couple shelves in there for my chicken treats, maybe some plants. Maybe my kittens... What do people think of letting my kittens sleep on the one side at night? They would be separated from the chickens, I'm just not sure if they'd still keep the chickens up or they'd get used to each other eventually. I figure they'd take care of mice that may somehow get in and then my husband can have his garage back. I don't want to leave them out at night or they may get eaten by coyotes, but they're not indoor kitties... So I'm thinking this may be a good solution.

Last picture of the evening. This is the view from the window on the end. I love that I can check on them without having to open the door and go in!

My husband built the roosting bars out of some fallen trees from a storm last week. He did all the blue painting, roosting bars and shelves today! Such a trooper! All we have left is a backing with hinges for the nest boxes, possibly add a few, depending how many pullets I end up with in my next hatch.

I currently have 19 eggs incubating, most should be hatching next Thursday and then 8 were put in a couple days later. My current flock is looking like 11 cockerels and 4 pullets!!! (Hopefully wrong on some of those, but really bad luck on the ratio for sure!)
Anyway, thanks for getting this far, maybe I'll do a whole big post once this is 100% complete and show the whole thing start to finish.

 

[Chuckie chicken]

The primary purpose for cutting holes in your building should be to provide ventilation, which you will need year round. Awnings or shutters will be for less than 5% of the time when there's a storm.

As deeply as it would pain me to not use something I got for free, it's got to be the right application. If you do use the windows, the one that opens will still need hardware cloth to be left open at night. Your chickens will appreciate and benefit from the light windows provide, but they will benefit more if it comes through hardware cloth instead of glass.

That sounds like a smart idea. However, I do have a few actual windows that I picked up for free. Two are just windows with no screens, so just for light/heat in the winter when it's sunny. And one is a big sliding window with a screen on one side and one full 6ft sliding patio door. I plan to put the big window and patio doors across from each other somewhat so that if it's really hot we can open them for a nice cross breeze and lots of air flow.. In the winter I really hope the windows will provide sun from any side when it's shining.

 

[Pippin quail]

Openings with hardware cloth for ventilation: sounds good to me.

Glass windows in addition to them: also sounds good to me. As long as you do not reduce the ventilation openings, and you have already planned for the glass windows to be shaded in summer, I don't see any downsides to having them too.

Yes I told my husband we need about 1sft at least of 24/7/365 days a year ventilation per chicken. And he was shocked and didn't understand. But I'm in charge and told him I'd show him a diagram later. The windows will be in addition to this ventilation.

 

[MissE]

Isn't this so much fun! Day dreaming about what we could do to other people's structures is so entertaining. There was one yesterday where someone has a small barn/large shed. Oh, the things to try in our minds knowing we don't have to do the work. It's like spoiling someone else's dog and then sending it home.

And for those of you with these big, beautiful blank slates, we are jealous. Very jealous.

 

[Pippin quail]

This is a long post, sorry in advance!

New floor boards put in (decided to just replace those instead of ripping them all out, more predator proof this way)
Patio door installed in my greenhouse/she-shed/future brooder half. My husband and I managed to carry them from our garage and install them without any other help. I feel powerful now, like we can build anything! It took several attempts and my husband having to chisel out the floor a bit to get them to fit. But we did it!
Run is complete with gate!
And the outside of the coop has a coat of primer and ready for painting and ventilation tomorrow.

Unfortunately had a huge storm blow in today after the heat of the past week. I was trying to secure a tarp over the chicken tractor in my garden and the wind was just whipping it everywhere and terrifying my chicks. My husband ended up grabbing a box for chickens and we had to make two trips across our large yard (we have 6 acres so I'd guess we had to run across at least an acre or two of it). I was drenched by time we made it to the coop and lost both sandals in the mad dash. Meanwhile ALL my laundry blew off the clothesline and tree branches, leaves and our rain barrel were flying around the yard, eventually a couple small trees fell! But at least the chickens made it to their new safe and secure coop! After about 10-15 minutes the storm was gone and it was hot again.

I have never seen the chickens so happy as they were when I let them into their new run where they have so much more space and long grass to forage in. Not sure what I'm going to do with them tomorrow when we hopefully put the ventilation in and paint the coop again. I do not want to pack them back to the garden....

Oh and since the coop is almost done and it's pretty big and we don't know how many hens we actually have, my husband said I should hatch a dozen more chicks!! Got 6 americauna and 6 Plymouth barred rock eggs in the incubator. Unfortunately during our storm ordeal my 2 year old somehow got into the incubating room and rearranged all my eggs and put most of them pointy side up. Anyone know how bad that is? Is it just bad if they stay in that position? I seriously hope she was gentle but I didn't witness anything, just heard my other kids yelling at her to get out and when I went to check the eggs they were all moved. I may or may not have yelled the f word a couple times in there.

Well that's the end of my crazy day!! Hopefully my eggs will be ok, they just went into the Bator yesterday.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I don't think you need to insulate, but depending upon how you install your roosts, you may need something to prevent the chickens from touching the metal wall while sleeping in the winter. A wood plate on the end if attached by a wall, or nothing if the roost is freestanding or far enough away from the wall. Very jealous of the space though We also thought we had plenty of time to build a larger coop and choked at the lumber costs. We ended up refurbishing a wood shed on our property. Hope to finish this weekend, so we can move the 7 week olds out of the house!!

 

[NatJ]

Good to know! Haha. My husband was quite convinced that it would be accurate based on what they do in large chicken operations where they get rid of the roosters on day 1. But obviously those are bred with that trait purposefully and most of mine are just a backyard mix.

Yes, it can be quite accurate when they are bred to have the right genes. But it's unlikely to work with yours.

So I guess I will not know for awhile which ones are actually pullets vs. cockerels. When can you usually tell? I really hope I don't have a bunch of roosters to get rid of

Some males become obvious as young as 3-4 weeks old, because their combs & wattles get much larger and redder as compared with the females.

Many males are obvious by about 8 weeks old, because their combs & wattles are bigger and redder. Some start crowing by this age.

The males eventually get male-specific saddle feathers (narrow with pointy ends, that eventually grow long and hang down on each side of the tail.) Those often start growing around 12 weeks of age, although some people are good at recognizing them as tiny little feathers while others don't notice until the feathers have grown quite long.

Some late-maturing males keep folks guessing until 6 months or more, because they continue to have a small/pale comb, don't grow the saddle feathers until late, and do not start crowing. Males that stay incognito for that long are fairly rare, but they definitely exist.

You can be sure of having a female when she lays an egg. When some chickens have started to lay, you can go examine the vents of them all (the hole that poop & eggs come out of), and see who is laying. The vent will look bigger, more moist, and able to stretch if the bird is laying eggs. It will be smaller and look more dry and puckered up for any chicken that is not laying (chicks, roosters, broody hens, molting hens.) If you look at some that are laying and some that are not, the difference is usually pretty obvious.

Crowing at any age indicates that the bird is probably male. (Hens that crow are fairly rare, although they do exist.)

Some chicken breeds have males and females with different coloring, but I would not count on that with barnyard mixes.

Of course some of those things appear much sooner than others. It's common to have the genders all identified by 8-12 weeks old, although of course there are some that are clear earlier or that keep you guessing for several more months.